NATO strikes hit Gaddafi forces around Adjabiya and Misratah

Naples, 10 April - NATO’s Operation Unified Protector continues to dismantle the fighting ability of the Gaddafi Regime throughout the country with particular attention to the two cities that are the most threatened, Ajdabiya and Misratah, where airstrikes near these two cities today have resulted in 25 Regime tanks being destroyed.

“The situation in Ajdabiya, and Misratah in particular, is desperate for those Libyans who are being brutally shelled by the Regime. To help protect these civilians we continue to strike these forces hard, with 11 tanks destroyed today as they approached Ajdabiya, and 14 tanks destroyed earlier this morning in the outskirts of Misratah,“ said Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, Commander of Operation Unified Protector.

While NATO’s operation is focused on destroying the heavy military equipment that poses the most threat to civilians, air strikes are also hitting ammunition bunkers and lines of communication to cut off these forces from their supplies.

“We are hitting the Regime logistics facilities as well as their heavy weapons because we know Gaddafi is finding it hard to sustain his attacks on civilians”, said the Commander. “One recent strike cratered the road leading to Ajdabiya, west of Brega, where his fuel and ammunition is being moved forward on large trucks. Further west we hit two more storage bunkers where the ammunition is coming from.”

As an example of NATO impartiality, a fighter aircraft (MiG 23) flown by TNC forces was intercepted and forced to land within minutes of taking off from the Benina Airfield near Benghazi yesterday. Under the UN mandated No-Fly-Zone no unauthorized aircraft is permitted to fly in Libyan airspace.

NATO Operation Unified Protector is mandated under the UN Security Council Resolution 1973 to protect civilians from attack using any means necessary.